We had a heatwave in the UK last week, so I left the house early to walk the dog before the blistering heat took hold.  Walking down the driveway I spotted a little white something wriggling on the warm tarmac, then another, and another.  On closer inspection I found the driveway was scattered with maggots!  It didn’t take long to locate the source – our wheelie bin was covered in them.

I must admit, despite my emerging reverence for nature, the maggots gave me a little shudder, but it was also incredible to see how far from the bin they’d wiggled their little bodies.  Seeing them move in unison in the same direction was so strange, they were obviously following some instinct or intelligence to who knows where?  Towards our house, it looked like.

This was when the fear centre of my brain kicked in:

What happens if they get in the house?  It’ll be a maggot invasion.  You’re going to have to kill them.

To kill or not to kill?

Kill seemed to be the general consensus online, where I could only find information on how to grow maggots or kill them, but I didn’t want to do either of these things.  In fact, something inside me was certain that the best thing to do was leave them alone.   Strangely, I found I was more willing to entertain the idea of collecting them up one by one and taking them somewhere else than killing them.  I am the person who not so many years ago would have vacuumed up a spider to stop webs in her house, maybe I would’ve felt slightly bad about it, but I wouldn’t have lost any sleep.  Now my heart was hurting at the idea of killing driveway maggots who might be in the process of mounting a home invasion.  Still, I was certain the best thing to do was leave them be. 

So I listened to the something that told me to do nothing.  When I went out at lunchtime to check on their advance they were gone.  If it hadn’t been for one deceased maggot on the lip of the wheelie bin, I may have been persuaded I dreamt the whole thing up. 

So what? It’s just a load of maggots

It was indeed just a load of maggots, but these maggots taught me a big lesson about the value of listening to that little something inside.  Sometimes things resolve themselves without needing any intervention. 

If you haven’t been able to tell from my writing already, I’m into signs from the Universe.  Each time I write a new poem or rhyme about an animal or insect it brings me closer to nature.  Each one of these rhymes helps me uncover a message, and often I’ll see one of the subjects of my rhymes right at the moment when I need to hear that message again. 

Lately I’ve been seeing dragonfly’s.  I believe they’re reminding me to enjoy each stage of life as I’m in it and not try to rush through to the next.  These signs help me feel more in tune with the Universe and contribute to the sense of awe and gratitude I feel at living in such an amazing world that we know so little about: so much to discover!

The maggots seemed to be telling me to listen to that part of me that knows things at a deeper level, call it a higher self if you like. I think of it as that part of me that’s aware it’s connected to everything else in the Universe.

Years ago I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  I remember finding it vaguely enjoyable but not understanding what the fuss was about.  As I re-read it today I’m finding a revelation on every page. It tells the story of a shepherd in search of his personal legend.  As the shepherd travels, he learns to read the omens which make up the Language of the World, so as to see to the Soul of the World. 

‘One could open a book to any page, or look at a person’s hand; one could turn a card, or watch the flight of birds…whatever the thing observed, one could find a connection with his experience of the moment…it wasn’t that those things, in themselves, revealed anything at all; it was just that people, looking at what was occurring around them, could find a means of penetration to the Soul of the World.’

Excerpt from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This is exactly how I feel when I see a creature that seems to be communicating something to me.  I know I’m the one ascribing the meaning, and yet the meaning doesn’t matter any less.  It’s the portal through which I’m able to connect with that deeper part of me, the part that is aware of its oneness with the Universe, the part that knows intuitively – and in ways which I can’t quite find the words to describe – far more about the world than my egoic brain is capable of comprehending.

Have you ever felt like the Universe was trying to tell you something?

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I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. If it resonated with you then have a look at the personal growth section of my blog where there are loads more of my rambling reflections. You can also follow me on instagram and if you haven’t already then please subscribe to my blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post, don’t worry you won’t be inundated, slow and steady is my mantra and so is my posting.